It's never good when the phrase "clogged toilet" comes to mind regarding your would-be Oscar contender's movie poster, but that's just one of the reactions you might remember Movieline having to the dreadful U.S. one-sheet for The King's Speech. Don't take our word for it, though. Director Tom Hooper told me he's on the same page -- and changes are forthcoming.
I spoke to Hooper (the award-winning director of John Adams and The Damned United) Sunday in New York, where he didn't waste any time renouncing the poster's existence and promising that it will never see the light of day:
I have to be critical of one thing about The King's Speech that I don't believe is doing it any favors of reaching a wide audience: This poster. I don't like it.
[Laughs and starts clapping] Let's just say that poster will be replaced very quickly with a very good poster.
The current one looks like a direct-to-DVD poster, not something being considered for Academy Awards. The actors look Photoshopped.
I hate it. I hate it. And it is not going to ever be on any cinema walls. It will be replaced. It's a train smash. It's a train smash.
How does that even happen?
Oh, I don't know. Like everything in life, everyone has good intentions. No one sets out to do that. But don't worry...
I'm sure it must be disheartening to a director when he's made what very well be the masterpiece of his life, and something as simple as the poster -- the face of the film -- is a "train smash." But hey, if one of these babies does happen to find its way into your local cinema, you might want to consider snagging it. A rarity like this might look nice displayed next to your Revenge of the Jedi collection.